Scope and Aims
The CISG-AC is a private initiative which aims at promoting a uniform interpretation of the CISG. It is a private initiative in the sense that its members do not represent countries or legal cultures, but they are scholars who look beyond the cooking pot for ideas and for a more profound understanding of issues relating to the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods of 11 April 1980 (CISG).
The CISG Advisory Council was founded on the initiative of the inspirational late Prof Albert Kritzer of the Institute of International Commercial Law in 2001. Prof Kritzer was at the forefront of the promotion of the harmonization of international commercial law with initiates like the CISG Advisory Council, the Institute’s database on the CISG and the Willem C Vis Moot.
In memoriam: Eric Bergsten
It is with great sadness that we inform the CISG community that Professor Eric E Bergsten, an Emeritus Member and former Chair of the CISG Advisory Council, has passed away on the 1st July 2023.
His leadership within the CISG Advisory Council was instrumental in the development of the Council Opinions. His legacy remains in our memory forever, and we will be always thankful for his commitment to our work.
We are thankfulness for his friendship and collegiality over the years.
Internationality and Uniformity
As an independent body of experts, the group is afforded the luxury of being critical of judicial or arbitral decision and of addressing issues not dealt with previously by adjudicating bodies. The Council is guided by the mandate of Article 7 of the Convention as far as its interpretation and application are concerned: the paramount regard to international character of the Convention and the need to promote uniformity.
In line with its objectives, the CISG Advisory Council is also committed to the multinational and multi-lingual character of the CISG. Accordingly the opinions of the Council is being made available in all six of the official languages of the CISG as well as a number of other prominent trade languages. In this the Council is well served by the international composition of its members.
Mode of Operation
In practical terms, the primary purpose of the CISG-AC is to issue opinions relating to the interpretation and application of the Convention on request or on its own initiative. Requests may be submitted to the CISG-AC, in particular, by international organizations, professional associations and adjudication bodies.
Observer Status at UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT
On 10 September 2012 the CISG-AC was granted observer status by UNCITRAL. This enables the CISG-AC to attend meetings of UNCITRAL and its working groups.
On 4 February 2015 the CISG-AC was granted observer status at the Governing Council of UNIDROIT. This enables the CISG-AC to attend meetings of UNIDROIT.
New Opinions and Declarations
The CISG Council has published 22 Opinions and 2 Declarations. The latest opinion is:
- Opinion No 22 The seller’s liability for goods infringing intellectual property rights under Article 42 CISG (Rapporteur Dr David Tebel) has now been published.
For a list of opinions currently under discussion see our Schedule of work page.
New translations
The Council also strive to make the Opinions available in other languages.
The following new translations are now available:
- Opinion 5 in Latvian
- Opinions No 20, 21 and 22 in Spanish
New case law
The CISG Advisory Council Opinions have been cited in the national courts of 14 different countries in 79 published cases. The latest reported cases are:
- Netherlands Aan- en Verkoopcoöperatie "De Eendracht" U.A. v. Raiffeisenbank Emsland-Mitte EG et al 21 March 2023 Gerechtshof Arnhem-Leeuwarden (Court of Appeal Arnhem-Leeuwarden)
Case text (Dutch) - Netherlands Redis Market S.r.l. v. SRG International B.V. 19 April 2023 Rechtbank Zeeland-West-Brabant (District Court Zeeland-West-Brabant)
Case text (Dutch) - Netherlands United Auto Enterprises BVBA v. OC Group B.V. 08 August 2023 Gerechtshof Den Haag (Court of Appeal The Hague)
Case text (Dutch)
Next CISG Advisory Council Meetings
The next physical CISG Advisory Council meeting will take place in Kopaonik, Serbia during December 2023. Further online meetings will be held in the course of 2023.
A physical meeting will take place in Pavia, Italy in October 2024. This will be followed by a physical meeting in Lisbon in September 2025. Regular online meetings are also envisaged for 2024.
For more information contact the secretary Ass-Prof Milena Djordjević.